Thorpe told to take decision by tomorrowLondon, December 24England batsman Graham Thorpe has been told he has until Boxing Day to declare his availability for the one-day tour to India next month.
Chairman of selectors David Graveney told BBC Radio today that the December 26 deadline would give him the “right sort of time span” to allow the England party to plan ahead.

Ganguly’s form under watchChandigarh, December 24Finally, it seems, the national selectors have woken up. The dismal form of skipper Saurav Ganguly with the bat has finally forced the ‘‘five wise men’’ of Indian cricket to hint that Saurav Ganguly’s captaincy might be reviewed after the one-day series against England beginning next month.

Sehwag,
Harbhajan, Deep finds of yearTHE year 2001 ended with the last test at Bangalore. I take this opportunity to congratulate the boys for winning this series for it was not easy to play back-to-back 3 Tests after a tough series against South Africa over a period of 66 days. We played very well in Mohali where we won the Test match in 4 days.

Injured Gillespie out of second TestMelbourne, December 24Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie broke down with a shoulder injury during team training today and was ruled out of the second Test against South Africa, starting on Wednesday.

Piacenza’s defender Giuseppe Cardone tries to stop Inter’s Brazilian star Ronaldo in vain during their Italian major league soccer match at the Leonardo Garilli Stadium in Piacenza, Italy, on Sunday. Inter won 3-2.
— AP/PTI

Gallant Rajasthan enter last eightJaipur, December 24Down by two goals, hosts Rajasthan fought back gallantly to lock 2-2 draw with Madhya Pradesh and enter the last eight grade on better goal average in the 38th Junior National Football Championship for B.C. Roy Trophy at the S.M.S. Stadium here this evening.

Mahindras pip
TollygungeMumbai, December 24Mid-fielder Khalid Jamil’s injury time goal helped local outfit Mahindra United pip Tollygunge Agragami, Kolkata, 2-1 in a sixth National Football League match at the Cooperage here today.

Schumacher goes into top gearParis, December 24For Michael Schumacher, 2001 was the year which saw him take his place amongst the greats of the sport, capturing his fourth world title and his second in succession with Ferrari. For others, however, it was a season of abject misery as the 12 months ended with huge clouds of financial doubt hanging over the money men of the paddock.

Railways, Haryana wrestlers dominateChandigarh, December 24Railways and Haryana ruled the mat on the penultimate day of the on going 48th senior National men and 5th Women National Wrestling Championship at Bharat Singh Memorial Sports school at Nidani, Jind, today.

Atwal, Randhawa for Grand Prix golfNew Delhi, December 24The Rs 6 lakh prize money Royal Challenge Grand Prix, part of the Indian Golf Tour, will be held at the Noida Golf Club course from tomorrow. The event will pit two of India’s finest golfers, Arjuna Atwal, fresh from his superb showing in Europe, and Jyoti Randhawa, against each other.

No dates yet for
Lewis-Tyson boutLondon, December 24Negotiations for the heavyweight showdown between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson are making progress, both camps have said, but they are not yet close to an agreement.

London, December 24
England batsman Graham Thorpe has been told he has until Boxing Day to declare his availability for the one-day tour to India next month.

Chairman of selectors David Graveney told BBC Radio today that the December 26 deadline would give him the “right sort of time span” to allow the England party to plan ahead.

Thorpe pulled out of the second Test against India in Ahmedabad on December 11 to fly home immediately, citing “personal problems”.

And as yet there has been no suggestion from Thorpe that he is in the right frame of mind to resume his number four slot in the side. However, media reports had yesterday quoted him as saying that he would not join the English team for the one-dayers as he needed more time to settle his problems.

Graveney told BBC Radio 4: “It’s obviously a very difficult time for him. All we’ve said to him is to give him maximum support and time.

“But he also realises that we’ve got to be fair to everybody else and inform them in due time.”

He stressed that Thorpe would be given longer before deciding whether he can go on the New Zealand leg of the winter tour in February and March.

Alec Stewart, who initially declined to tour India after allegations there that he was involved in match-fixing which were later rejected by the ICC, said last week he was now available for the one-day tour there.

Graveney refused to say whether he would be a possible replacement for Thorpe but added: “I’ll certainly have a chat to him.

“I’m pleased that he’s changed his mind and it’s something we’ll have to talk about.

“I’m not prepared to say either way. You’ve got to remember that people have already been selected.”

England lost their three-match Test series in India 1-0 but had the upper hand in the rain-affected third Test in Bangalore which finished on Sunday.

Stewart’s replacement, James Foster, was widely regarded as one of the tour’s success stories.
Reuters

Chandigarh, December 24
Finally, it seems, the national selectors have woken up. The dismal form of skipper Saurav Ganguly with the bat has finally forced the ‘‘five wise men’’ of Indian cricket to hint that Saurav Ganguly’s captaincy might be reviewed after the one-day series against England beginning next month. They had appointed him captain till the end of the tour by the England team. The question of review will come up when the team for the home series against Zimbabwe is selected.

The Indian skipper might have a very strong supporter in the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, whose base is also Kolkata, but he has also made quite a few enemies among those who have a major say in India cricket. During the Mohali Test against England, Mr Raj Singh Dungarpur, a former President of the BCCI and a powerful voice in BCCI meetings, had pointed out to TNS that among contemporary international captains it was Ganguly who was mostly in the news for the wrong reasons. He had faced the wrath of the umpires/match referees for the most number of times in recent years,

Saurav, however, defends his action both on and off the field, saying that is how he played the game and that is how he intends to lead the team. As long as he was getting the runs he could keep his detractors at arm’s length. But now that he has failed with the bat not only in the just concluded series against England but also in the previous series against South Africa in South Africa, his detractors have started coming out in the open. He has made quite a few enemies even among team members (although nobody is willing to be quoted on this) with his abrasive behaviour, specially when things do not go his way in the midst of play.

The last time Ganguly scored a century was 26 months ago, in October, 1999, against New Zealand at Ahmedabad, Since then he has played 21 Tests and has just five fifties to his name. Of these two have come against teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. True, his unbeaten 98 against Sri Lanka was a fine innings but in this recently concluded series against England he had a total of 68 runs from four innings with an average of 22.66, not good enough for a batsmen who was once counted to be among the best in the business in the country. In contrast, even V.V.S. Laxman, who himself has had a very poor series against England, had an average of 38.33 from three innings.

To say that Saurav is undergoing a lean patch will be counted as the understatement of the year. Australian skipper Mark Taylor too has gone through a lean patch but even then never did he look as clumsy as the Indian captain has in recent times. The Indian captain has been struggling for runs for 26 months and there seems to be no solution in sight. And with so many batsmen waiting in the wings to make the Indian team, how long can the selectors delay the inevitable?

The Indian team cannot play with 10 players and a captain. Saurav Ganguly has to perform to retain his place in the squad. But to do that he will have to iron out his deficiencies in his
batting. He must analyse why he is getting out so quickly, and cheaply, in match after match. He did make a beginning when Mohinder Amarnath had a talk with him prior to the Bangalore Test but more needs to be
done. And only Saurav can solve his problems!

THE
year 2001 ended with the last test at Bangalore. I take this opportunity to congratulate the boys for winning this series for it was not easy to play back-to-back 3 Tests after a tough series against South Africa over a period of 66 days. We played very well in Mohali where we won the Test match in 4 days. We outplayed the Englishmen in every department of the game in that Test. The Englishmen came back well in Ahmedabad and Bangalore to draw the Test matches and deserved a pat on their backs for their efforts.

It’s not easy to lead a half strength side because I have had this experience in Colombo against Sri Lanka where we although managed to win a Test in Kandy and reached the finals of the triseries against a full strength Kiwis and Sri Lankans.

I also appreciate the support Nasser and his boys got from those who boarded the flight from Heathrow to Mumbai for they back their side tremendously inspite of a loss of the Test series.

I think Nasser Hussain is a fantastic captain and handled his resources brilliantly although at times I felt he could have attacked a bit more with his spinners than he did because I always feel to win games one might at times be ready to lose also and take a few risks.

It has been an up and down year for Indian cricket. There have been some great times as well as some frustrating moments. We should have won a couple of finals in the shorter version of the game which we did not and I hope the new year brings a bit of luck for us. The best moments were the partnerships of Laxman and Rahul in the Test match in Kolkata, the wins in Zimbabwe and Kandy and the series win against England. We also have lost quite a few important games where even a draw could have made the year a much better one than actually it was.

There have been quite a few positives which have happened. Sehwag, Harbhajan and Deep were finds of the year and I hope they carry on their good work. Laxman had a good year when he scored 900 runs in 10 Tests. So did Rahul and Sachin. Srinath once again bowled splendidly and carried the responsibility of leading the attack.

Our mooting with BCCI President was a very fruitful one. Its good to see that John Wright and Andrew Leipus have been given extension till the World Cup in 2003. There are a lot of plans which will be implemented in a month’s time which can turn things around for Indian cricket.
(Gameplan)

Melbourne, December 24
Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie broke down with a shoulder injury during team training today and was ruled out of the second Test against South Africa, starting on Wednesday.

Australian team physiotherapist Errol Alcott said Gillespie had complained of shoulder soreness after the fourth day’s play in the first Test in Adelaide earlier this month.

“He was still able to bowl with it on day five and his pace was still up and I think he got a couple of wickets too,’’ Alcott said.

“But I just don’t think it’s fair on him or the rest of the team for him to go into a new Test match with a problem like that.

“He was shattered, understandably,’’ added Alcott, who made the final decision to withdraw Gillespie from the team.

Gillespie (26), has taken 115 wickets in 30 Tests at an average of 25.37 and is an integral member of Australia’s pace trio alongside Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee.
Reuters

Jalandhar, December 24
Punjab and Sind Bank lifted the Ramesh Chander Memorial Hockey Cup for the third time in a row routing Border Security Force (3-2) at Surjit Hockey Stadium here today.

In the boys’ section Namdhari Academy lost their title to Ramesh Academy whereas in the women’s section Haryana XI took the title for the fourth time continuously defeating Punjab Small Industries and Exports Corporation (PSIEC) 3-0.

Punjab and Sind Bank thrashed BSF in close
encounter by 3-2 to lift the cup. PSB were quick to take the lead as Sandeep Singh Ghuman sounded the board in the opening minutes. BSF equalised when Sushil Khajur netted the ball from the pass by captain Sushil Kumar. The match was concentrated in the mid-field as both teams fought neck and neck. BSF gained lead in the 23rd minute when left-out Habil Topno advanced to net the ball and make 2-1. The bankmen neutralised in the very next minute through Baljeet Singh Chandi. Till half time the score was 2-2.

After change of ends the game became faster as both attempted to acquire the lead. Bankmen succeeded in the 41st minute when a pass by Parminder Singh proved helpful for Baljit Singh Chandi to slam in the goal.

In the boy’s section, Namdhari Academy played against Escorts Ramesh Chander Memorial Academy (ERCMA) to fight for the title. The game was played at a brisk pace with some excellent coordination by the boys of Namdhari Academy. It was bad luck for them as their rivals gained a penalty stroke in the 26th minute of the game when the defenders obstructed the forwards of Ramesh Academy. Onkar Singh of Ramesh Academy penetrated the guard Swinder Singh to give his team the lead. In the second half, Namdhari Academy tried hard to equalise but all their efforts proved fruitless. Ramesh Academy won the title 1-0.

Haryana eves thrashed PSIEC 3-0 to win the cup for the fourth time. In the 12th minute of the match, forward Kiran Bala co-ordinated with Jasjeet Kaur to score the first goal. They both struck again in the last minutes of half time and consolidated the lead to 2-0.

After the breather, in spite of various chances to score, PSIEC eves lacked the technique to slam in the goal. In the last minute of the match, Kiran Bala of Haryana XI entered the rival’s boundary and weaved through the defenders to sound the board and make her team victorious by 3-0.

Harpreet Singh of Punjab and Sind Bank among men and Sashi Bala of PSIEC among women were declared the best players.

Jaipur, December 24
Down by two goals, hosts Rajasthan fought back gallantly to lock 2-2 draw with Madhya Pradesh and enter the last eight grade on better goal average in the 38th Junior National Football Championship for B.C. Roy Trophy at the S.M.S. Stadium here this evening.

Contrary to all expectations, Andhra Pradesh stunned Tamil Nadu by an odd goal in three and stormed into the quarterfinals from cluster three. In an inconsequential tie, Uttar Pradesh trounced Maharashtra by 2-0 in the same cluster with both the teams already bowed out of the championship.

Spirited Rajasthan taking full advantage of the home ground, put up a grand fight back against Madhya Pradesh who had established a strong 2-0 lead by seventh minute of the second session in a ding dong
battle. But Rajasthan lads netted two brilliant goals with in three minutes to level the score two all and take their side through to the quarterfinals on goal average.

The two teams were tied on points with each having seven points. But Rajasthan emerged on top with 7-2 goal in their favour as compared with Madhya Pradesh’s 6-2.

In the scheduled duration of the match, Roopesh Kumar and Vikas Kumar scored for Madhya Pradesh in 18th and 58th minute, while Irshad reduced the margin in 64th minute for Rajasthan and two minutes later Sanjeev netted the equaliser.

With reigning champion Bihar and runners-up Manipur have been directly entered the quarterfinal league round, one team topping each cluster have joined them following the completion of cluster league matches at Jaipur and Jodhpur.

Mumbai, December 24
Mid-fielder Khalid Jamil’s injury time goal helped local outfit Mahindra United pip Tollygunge Agragami, Kolkata, 2-1 in a sixth National Football League match at the Cooperage here today.

The young and talented Kolkata outfit played their heart out and deserved to split points if not earn an outright win but that was not to be.

Tollygunge took the lead in the 20th minute of the match when their Nigerian recruit Akeem Abolonke scored off a rebound.

The equaliser for the home team came through their winger Mohammed Najeeb off striker Austin Okolo’s pass in the 53rd minute after score read 1-0 in favour of Tollygunge at half time.

Mahindra United’s desperate attempts to find the match winner were well thwarted by Tollygunge defenders before the last minute (injury time) goal by Jamil following a flag-kick sealed the visitors’ fate.

Earlier, Mahindra got half a dozen chances but Tollygunge’s Sandip Nandy, who had a good match today, brought off brilliant saves.
PTI

Paris, December 24
For Michael Schumacher, 2001 was the year which saw him take his place amongst the greats of the sport, capturing his fourth world title and his second in succession with Ferrari. For others, however, it was a season of abject misery as the 12 months ended with huge clouds of financial doubt hanging over the money men of the paddock.

At the end of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in March this year, Scotland’s David Coulthard admitted that his McLaren team would find it hard to close the gap on Michael Schumacher and Ferrari by the next race in Malaysia.

He was right about the gap, but wrong about the date. They never really got to grips with Ferrari as Schumacher dominated the Formula 1 season from start to finish wrapping up his second successive world title and fourth in all.

The 32-year-old was crowned champion in Hungary in August; then in the next race in Belgium he won again to break Alain Prost’s record of 51 career wins.

Schumacher’s victory in Australia was his fifth in a row, although the race was overshadowed by the death of a track marshal who was hit by flying debris from a collision involving the BAR of Jacques Villeneuve and the Williams of Ralf Schumacher.

At Sepang, in race two, it was a Ferrari one-two with Schumacher leading home team-mate Rubens Barrichello and it was then, in the rain of Malaysia, that people were realising the game was probably up.

The German had to use the spare car, went off into the gravel and even endured a marathon pit-stop, but still came back to win.

Coulthard stopped the rot for McLaren in Brazil taking victory ahead of Schumacher before Ralf Schumacher, in his Williams, stole the thunder from his brother by registering his first ever win with victory in San Marino.

With Michael not scoring a point courtesy of a flat tyre, Coulthard Grabbed second and drew level with the German at the top of the standings with 26 points. However, in Spain at the end of April, any hopes that McLaren had of mounting a serious challenge to Ferrari disappeared in a scene belonging more to a children’s cartoon than a multi-million pound sport.

Ralf Schumacher then led home his brother in Canada before Michael returned to Europe in style with wins in the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring and at Magny Cours.
AFP

Chandigarh, December 24
Railways and Haryana ruled the mat on the penultimate day of the on going 48th senior National men and 5th Women National Wrestling Championship at Bharat Singh Memorial Sports school at Nidani, Jind, today.

Kirpa Shanker, Shokender and Sujit clinched-gold medals for Railways, while Sanjay, Sunita, Geeta Jakhar won gold for Haryana. Gurinder and Satish bagged the two gold medals for Punjab.

Anil Kumar of West Bengal won gold beating Jogender Singh of Chandigarh 10-8 in the Greco-Roman 54 kg category while Gurvinder Singh of Punjab earned gold defeating Sukhdeep Singh of Utaranchal 9-0 in 63 kg category. In the 76 kg Sanjay of Haryana defeated Gobind Pawar of Railways 4-0 to won gold. Satish of Punjab clinched the title in 97 kg category, defeating Harinder Singh of Utaranchal 3-0.

In free style final round Kirpa Shanker of Railways defeated Jogender of West Bengal 8-1 points. In the 63 kg category, Shokender of Railways prevailed over Ombir of Punjab 4-3 points to earn the gold medal while in the 76 kg category Sujit Maan of Railways defeated Ashish of NCR 10-0 points to win gold. In the 97 kg category Bhagat Singh of UP won gold by defeating Rakesh of MP 3-2.

In the final round of women wrestling, Nirmla of NCR in 46 kg category, Sunita of Haryana in 56 kg category and Geetika Jhakar of Haryana in 68 kg won gold medals, defeating Rita of Haryana, Manju Shekhawat of NCR and Kiran Sihag of Delhi, respectively.

The General Council of the WFI at its meeting, presided over by its President and Haryana Police Director-General M.S. Mailk, however, withheld grant of affiliation to the NCR Wrestling Association because of objection
pertained to it being sub-judice was raised former President G.S. Mander.

The grant of
affiliation to Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) was kept pending till the next council meeting.

The meeting accepted the proposal of Asian Cadet Wrestling Championship in NCR from July 11 to 14 next.

The meeting, attended by all the affiliated associations including Sports Authority of India among five special invitees, was informed that the WFI had received a proposal for conducting the Senior and Junior National Wrestling
Championships in Jharkhand and Punjab, respectively.

World wrestling champion and noted Bollywood star Dara Singh launched the WFI website-www.wrestlingindia.org. The site provides detailed information about the WFI activities, upcoming national and international events, results of all national and
international events besides detailed training facilities in the country.

The site also provides a gallery of eminent wrestlers in the country. It
further provides facilities for enrolment to the WFI through the internet.
UNI

New Delhi, December 24
The Rs 6 lakh prize money Royal Challenge Grand Prix, part of the Indian Golf Tour, will be held at the Noida Golf Club course from tomorrow. The event will pit two of India’s finest golfers, Arjuna Atwal, fresh from his superb showing in Europe, and Jyoti Randhawa, against each other.

Making the clash even more interesting will be the presence of stars like Mukesh Kumar, the country’s top player on the domestic circuit for the last two years, Vivek Bhandari, Vijay Kumar, Shiv Prakash, Rahil Gangjee, Zai Kipgen and veteran Rohtas Singh. And there will also be Ali Sher, Feroze Ali and Gaurav Ghei to add sheen to the Grand Prix.

N.P. Thirukode, vice-president of sponsors Shaw Wallace and Company, said the field would have a maximum of 100 players, including eight amateurs. Amit Luthra, the 1982 Asian Games gold medallist, who is still an amateur, will be playing in the amateur section.

He said the Pro-Am event, which begins on Christmas day tomorrow, is packed with a star cast which includes cricket stars Kapil Dev and Ajay Jadeja. He said the 6,940-yard long Noida club course is known to bring in low scores as it did when a professional event was last held here in October end. Vivek Bhandari had emerged the champion with Mukesh Kumar finishing a close second.

“The confirmation of Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa has been the icing on the cake for the inaugural event of the Royal Challenge Grand Prix”, said Rishi Narain, himself a former Asian Games gold medallist, and Director (Golf) of International Management Group. As many as 14 players from Chandigarh figure in the main draw. They are: Amritinder Singh, G.S. Sethi, K.S. Sibia, K.P.S. Sekhon, Rajiv Kumar, Ranjit Singh, Roop Singh, Randhir Ghotra, Dyal Singh, Balbir Singh, Simran Singh, Naib Singh, Som Nath and Pal Singh.

London, December 24
Negotiations for the heavyweight showdown between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson are making progress, both camps have said, but they are not yet close to an agreement.

The Press Association (PA) said that the two camps must reach agreement on the terms of the fight, tentatively scheduled for April 6, by January 8 or face the bout’s promotion being thrown open to the highest bidder. That could open the door for controversial promoter Don King to muscle in on the action.

WBC chief Jose Sulaiman said: “The WBC ratifies Mike Tyson as the official challenger for heavyweight world champion Lennox Lewis. King has already tried to entice Tyson away from a showdown with Lewis by offering him over $ 10 million to take on WBC champion John Ruiz, PA said.
AFP

Fatehgarh Sahib, December 24
All-India Baba Zorawar Singh Baba Fateh Singh Saheedi Football
tournament will be held from December 25 to 27 by Dashmesh Sports Club
at Mata Gujri College ground here. According to Mr. Kirpal Singh
Libra, Chairman of the tournament committee, top teams from all over
the country would participate in this tournament.

SPORTS BRIEFS

DAS’ PERFORMANCE WORRIES FAMILY
BHUBANESWAR: Though the Indian cricket selectors might not be concerned with opener Shiv Sunder Das’ form in the three-Test series against England that ended on Sunday his family is quite disappointed over his 30-plus average in the series. “Due to lack of experience he is unable to convert decent scores into big ones,” the cricketer’s father Uttam Das said. “I expect with time he will definitely do better and score more runs.” However, the 22-year-old openers’ sister Sucheta was optimistic about his return to form. “It’s a just matter of time he gets runs...We were so disappointed when he got run out for 58 in the second innings of the second Test in Ahmedabad.
PTI

VETERANS TT
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab State Veterans Table Tennis Association will organise the third Punjab State Veterans Table Tennis Championship on December 29 and 30 at Corporation TT hall, Jalandhar. According to Mr N.S. Kalsi, president of the association, the events to be held include men’s team championship, men’s singles above 40 years, 50 years and above 60 years and women’s singles in above 40 years. TT squad for participation in the forthcoming national meet to be held at Mahableshwar would be selected during this state championship. Bhawani Mukherjee of NIS, Patiala, and Rajeev Kaushal, Jt. Secretary, Table Tennis Federation of India, will be the technical officials. Entries close on December 28 with Mr Rakesh Kaushal, sports officer, at the above venue.
OSR

NATIONAL BOXINGJAMSHEDPUR: Steel Plants Sports Board (SPSB) emerged overall champion with 39 points while Haryana finished a close second with 37 points in the 17th Sub-Junior National Boxing Championships here. Manipur pugilist N. Soranjoy Singh was declared the best boxer of the meet while Santosh Dom of Bengal was named the best budding boxer. Andhra boy Mohammnad Aitesaamuddin was adjudged the best loser of the nationals that concluded here on Sunday.
PTI

THAPAR ACADEMY WIN
PATIALA: Thapar Academy, Sansarpur, downed, Air Force, New Delhi, by the odd goal in two and ICF, Chennai, beat ONGS, Dehra Dun, 2-1 on the third day of the 26th All India Liberals Hockey Tournament at the Ripudaman College ground at Nabha, near here today. In the other matches of the day, State Bank of India (SBI), Bhopal downed Ropar Hawks 2-0 while Police Range, Jagraon outstroked Central Railway, Mumbai 5-2.
OSR

BSF LIFT OVERALL TITLE
JALANDHAR: Border Security Force won the overall championship at the three Headquarters Golf Open Championship held at Jehan Khelan Golf Club PRTC on Sunday, according to a press release. Over 40 golfers from BSF, Army, Punjab Armed Police, PRTC Jehan Khelan and Police Academy, Phillaur, Patiala and Chandigarh participated in the meet. The BSF team comprising Balbir Singh, ADIG BSF, Jasminder Singh Johal, Vikram Janjua and Balwinder Singh Mattoo won the title.
OSR